Hot Yoga Heats Up in Dix Hills

A new hot yoga and Pilates studio is now open in Dix Hills and its mission is to make you sweat.

Customers will feel the warmth the moment they enter Dreampower Fitness, located at the Dix Hills Super center across from DWW Shoes on East Jericho Turnpike.

Soothing music is playing, and scented candles fill the air with a subtle, pleasing aroma. To keep one’s energy up, a bowl of apples sits on the counter free for the taking.

Don’t let the soothing music or friendly owner Yael Terkiewicz and business partner Michelle Shnitkin, who personally greet each student with a smile, fool you though —once inside the studio, it’s time to work.

Dreampower Fitness calls its practice power yoga, conveying the strength it promotes during the hot yoga workout. The heat lets the body’s muscles relax to get the most benefit from the poses, explains Turkiewicz.

Expect to sweat, a lot. Also be prepared to become addicted to how it feels after taking a class. The sweat held release toxins from the body, leaving one recharged and serene.

Dreampower Fitness also offers Pilates, both as a separate class and as part of a yoga practice. The disciplines have much in common, promoting flexibility and using breath to create flow during physical exertion. “Pilates improves posture, core strength and poses, enhancing your yoga practice,” notes Turkiewiecz.

Part of the studio’s philosophy is its no-pressure atmosphere. “One of the things that makes our studio so special is the noncompetitive environment,” Turkiewicz said. “People feel so comfortable here; our students tell us it is their home away from home. This is a very friendly, warm, inviting place. It’s judgment-free; all the instructors are very positive, compassionate and really want to see everyone grow.”

For Turkiewicz, Dreampower Fitness is all about spreading the joy that yoga has brought into her life.

“Since I started practicing yoga I’ve experienced a difference in the way I react to people and situations, through breath awareness as well as seeing and feeling changes physically,” acknowledges Turkiewicz. “Even though this is a business, what I thrive on is seeing our students feel empowered and develop emotional well-being. I like watching people grow and come into themselves.” 

Having her own studio is a dream come true for Turkiewicz, who is trained and certified as both a yoga and Pilates instructor. “It’s been hovering over me for the past several years, so when this opportunity came I grabbed it.” 

Needing someone to handle the operations side of the business, she turned to her close friend Michelle. Both women had spent the greater part of 20 years raising their children—it was actually through their children that they first met—and became devoted to practicing yoga, independently. They describe the opening of Dreampower Fitness, as an adventure, and want to include all their students on their journey.

The classes are not only about doing the best downward facing dog, but embracing all that yoga has to offer such as awakening the mind and body, a sense of inner peace and balance, and strengthening and toning, they said. 

Instructors at Dreampower Fitness blend a variety of traditions in their classes, and are trained to teach students of all levels, from the most advanced practitioner to the novice whose never uttered “Namaste.” Turkiewicz, trained through the renowned Power Pilates program, offers mat classes as well as private sessions on Pilates apparatus.

Dreampower Fitness is located at 1842 East Jericho Turnpike in Dix Halls. The phone number is (631) 858-9642. Classes are held seven days a week; there are several yoga/Pilates combo classes held daily, which run an hour and a half, and a yoga ‘booty’ class that runs for 30 minutes. The schedule is listed on dreampowerfitness.com.